Housdan receives award at Christmas TeaThe annual Christmas Tea event took place on Monday in the cafeteria of Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center in Russellville. The Christmas Tea event is hosted by Saint Mary’s staff to honor all of the members of Saint Mary’s Volunteer Auxiliary that volunteer at the hospital throughout the year, and one volunteer is presented with the Volunteer of Excellence Award. Many members of the Saint Mary’s staff, including Saint Mary’s CEO Jim Davidso...

Campbell receives Patriotic Employer awardPope County 911 and OEM Director Jim Campbell (left of center) was awarded the Patriotic Employer award for his support of one of his employees, Samuel Evans (right of center), who was deployed to Afghanistan from 2013-14. This award is given to a limited few across the state each year for their contribution to national security and protecting liberty and freedom by supporting employee participation in America’s National Guard and Reserve Forc...

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THE COURIER / Joshua MashonThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Little Rock approves increase in hotel taxLITTLE ROCK — Little Rock city leaders have approved a 2-cent increase on hotel taxes and plan to ask voters to dedicate that money for improvements at the Arkansas Arts Center. The Little Rock Board of Directors voted unanimously Tuesday to approve two separate 1-cent increases on the tax levied on hotels, motels, bed-and-breakfasts and short-term vacation rentals. The city wants to take out up to $37.5 million in bonds to pay for the improve...

Audit finds former education group treasurer stole $78KFARMINGTON — An audit report says a former treasurer for the Northwest Arkansas Education Service Cooperative wrote checks to herself and family members totaling about $78,000 over a 17-year period. The Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that the audit was released during a superintendents meeting Tuesday. Cooperative Director Charles Cudney says the discovery was made in September during an annual audit of the organization’s finances...

Senators place hold on Energy nomineeLITTLE ROCK — Arkansas’ two Republican senators say they will place a hold on a confirmation vote for a U.S. Department of Energy nominee because of their concerns over a proposed wind-energy transmission line that would cross the state. U.S. Sens. John Boozman and Tom Cotton said Wednesday they will place a hold on the confirmation vote for Victoria Wassmer, who is President Barack Obama’s nominee for the department’s undersecretary for manag...

For some, the older the smartphone, the betterNEW YORK — Between splashy launches, lavish new-phone offers (get a free HDTV on activation!) and frequent software updates that slow down your old handset, it sometimes feels like the entire technology industry is pushing you to buy the latest smartphone. Yet some holdouts resist. Take Zak Sommerfield, 35, a software analyst in New York, who has hung onto his LG Delight flip phone for five years, even though his friends and co-workers make fu...

IRS: Warrant needed to use tracking technologyWASHINGTON — Internal Revenue Service criminal investigators will not continue to use cellphone-tracking technology without first seeking a warrant, the IRS commissioner told Congress in a letter made public Tuesday. Commissioner John Koskinen said his agency is drafting a policy to abide by the Justice Department’s guidance on using the technology, which simulates cellphone towers to trick nearby phones into revealing their locations. The gui...

Facebook CEO to give away most of moneySAN FRANCISCO — Talk about birth announcements: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife say they’ll devote nearly all their wealth — roughly $45 billion — to solving the world’s problems in celebration of their new baby daughter, Max. Zuckerberg’s wife, Priscilla Chan, gave birth to a 7-pound, 8-ounce daughter last week. But the couple didn’t put out the news until Tuesday, when Zuckerberg posted it on Facebook, of course. In the same post, ...

Wal-Mart launches campaign for veteransBENTONVILLE — Arkansas-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc. plans to give up to $1.5 million to a charity that provides housing for families of veterans who are in military or veteran hospitals. The gift announced Tuesday includes a donation of $500,000 to the Fisher House Foundation and up to $1 million more through a campaign called Holiday Sing to Salute Military Families. The company says it will donate $100 for every video of a holiday greeting or ...

Settlement reached with Millennium HealthLITTLE ROCK — Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge, joined by 48 other States and the District of Columbia, announced Tuesday that Arkansas will receive $121,568.64 as part of a $256 million settlement with Millennium Health, formerly Millennium Laboratories, to resolve alleged violations of the False Claims Act for billing Medicare, Medicaid and other federal health care programs for medically unnecessary urine drug and genetic testing a...

Downtown Art Walk & Holiday Open HouseThe Downtown Art Walk and Holiday Open House will take place from 6-9 p.m. this Friday. Russellville Downtown merchants will showcase the talents of area artists and musicians, along with their festive holiday storefronts. Community members are invited to stroll the sidewalks of Russellville Downtown while shopping for art, greeting old friends and making new ones, enjoying refreshments and taking in some of the live music. Participating locat...

A&P Commission positions openingThe Russellville Advertising and Promotion (A&P) Commission is accepting letters of interest for two positions that will open Jan. 1, 2016. A&P Executive Director Christie Graham said one position must be held by someone in the tourism industry and be residents of Pope County. The second commission member will be an at-large position and must also be a resident of Pope County. The positions that will open next month are currently held by Chair...

Projects stall after feds allow fish farming in the open oceanSAN DIEGO — Some 90 percent of seafood consumed by Americans is imported — a fact that the Obama administration vowed to start turning around by expanding fish and shellfish farms into federal waters. Yet nearly two years since the first permit was issued, the United States still has no offshore farms. The pioneers of offshore aquaculture say their plans have stalled or been abandoned because of the long and expensive federal permitting proces...

Commission thanks outgoing membersThe Russellville Planning Commission said goodbye to two members during its regular meeting Monday night at City Hall. Secretary Eric Westcott resigned his position on the Planning Commission to take a seat on the Russellville City Council. Jimmy Sims also presented a plaque for his service on the Planning Commission and Board of Adjustment. He is moving to Texas. Chairman Scott Boyd said he was grateful that he gets to work with such good fol...

Arvest provides more than 1.6 million mealsFORT SMITH — Two months ago, Arvest Bank launched its annual 1 Million Meals initiative to fight hunger in the four-state region the bank serves. The bank has announced that, with the help of customers and community members, it has exceeded the campaign goal by raising a total of 1,652,870 meals in the fight against hunger. Launched in 2011, Arvest’s 1 Million Meals campaigns have raised a five-year total of 7,891,584 meals, which includes mor...

Salon conducts yearly ‘Adopt a Senior’ eventHair Tech Studios in Russellville is conducting their yearly “Adopt a Senior Citizen” event during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. The senior residents are individuals from local long-term health care facilities in Russellville. Hair Tech Studios has sponsored this project for over 10 years and has been able to provide gifts such as clothing, toiletries and candy to area senior citizens. A tree, similar to the Angel Trees set up in va...

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Courier staff reportsThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley